Picker-stick check



' March 4, 192.4. I 1,485,911

N kt ELLJS PICKER STICK CHECK Filed Nov- 5. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 attorney 5,

March 4, 1924. 1,485,911

N. H. ELLIS PICKER STICK CHECK Filed Nov. 5. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 4, 19241..

earnr NAT. H. ELLIS, OF GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, ASSIGNOR O F ONE-HALF TO JOSEPH E. LEACH AND ONE-HALF TO I. G. BUNKER, BOTH OF GBEENVILLE, SOUTII CAROLINA.

PICKER-STICK CHECK.

Application filed November3, 1921. Serial No. 512,540. 7

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NAT. ELLIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Green ville, in the county of Greenville and State of South Carolina, have invented new and useful Improvements in Picker-Stick Checks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to picker checks for looms, and more particularly to checks of that type in which a looped strap of leather or similar material is mounted on the lay near its outer end, the picker-stick moving within and longitudinally of theloop. These check-straps, from the intermittent and rapidly'recurring blows of the picker-stick thereagainst, wear rapidly and then break, necessitating replacement. This is an item of considerable expense, especially in large mills where many looms are running, and the present invention has for its object to reduce this expense by providing a means by which a broken strap may be coupled in such a way that it is capable of further use, the coupling means being so arranged and mounted that they do not interfere with the picker-stick or any other parts, nor in any Way impede or interfere with the ejection of a spent bobbin when the invention is applied to a loom of the automatic filling-replenishing type.

The invention also has for its object to provide a securing or coupling means for the ends of a check-strapwhich permits the use of a strap considerably shorter than the straps ordinarily used at the present time. The check straps now in use have a length of twenty-two inches, whereas the invention permits the use of a strap only eighteen inches in length, which saves four inches of leather on each strap and therefore mate rially reduces the cost of the check-strap equipment.

The invention also permits the use of a two-piece strap, and by having one of the pieces short and at that end of the loop where the strap usually breaks, the strap can be rendered capable of further use at very little expense by merely removing the short broken section and replacing it with a new section.

The objects stated are attained by means of a novel combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that the same may be better understood, referenceis had to the accompanying drawing, whereinf Figure 1 is a front'elevation of the lay I tion of a strap coupling member.

Referring specifically to the drawing, 10 denotes the lay of a loom without the shuttle box, the latter not being illustrated as it is not necessary for an understanding of the invention. On top of the lay is mounted the usual race plate 11. The picker stick 12 traverses the slot'in the lay behind the front guide 13 which is bolted at one end, as shown at 14C, to an ear 15 on the casting which forms the race plate 11; The bolt hole 16 in the guide'13 through which the bolt 14 passes, is elongated in the direction of the length of the guide to permit longitudinal adjustment. The other end of the guide'13 is opposite the upper end 17 of the laysword, and on its inner face as best'seen in Fig. 4, is a' lug 18 having a threaded aperture to take the inner end of a screw bolt being also centered on the lug 18. On the bottom of the guide 13. at the site of the buffer 22, is an inturned flange 23 on which the latter seats. said flange therefore serving to retain the buffer in place. 'On the last-mentioned end of the guide is also the deflecting plate 2etfor the spent or rejected bobbins. The looped check-strap within which the which is longer than the other. Fig. 5 shows these two pieces, the short piece being shown at 25 and the long piece at 25 At the place where the break occurred, the two strap sections are lapped and united by a bolt 26 "'bro 'ighttogether and united by a coupling secured by a nut 27the latter being on the outside, and the bolt head on the inside.

Under the nut27 is placed a washer 28. The other ends of the strap sections are m'ember consisting of a base plate 29 having projectingend wings 29 provi'ded with holes forbolts 30011 which are screwed nuts 30,

one end ofthestrap is placed against the outer face of one wing and the other strap end is placed against the other wing, and they two ends are secured by the bolts 30, the-latter passingtherethrough. Gne strap end has an elongated bolt hole 31 to permit a limited lengthening or shortening of the loop, and under the not of the bolt which asses through this hole is a washer 31*.

nder thenut of the bolt which secures the other strap end is also a washer 32, as well as a plate'33 extending along the back of the strap for a short distance. The purpose ofthe plate 33 is to prevent the check strap from flapping against the picker-stick 12 and thereby cause the head of bolt 26 to strike theside of the stick.

- In the outer face of the plate 29 is a vertical groove 34c-in which seats a depending bracket arm 35 carriedby the lay 10, and

secured to the latter in anysuitable manner, i

a bolt 36 being shown. The'plate 29 is longitu'dinally slotted. as shown at 37 to take a bolt 38 whereby it is secured to the arm 35,

the slot permitting adjustment of the plate in'thefdirection of the length of the lay 10 as well as the'length "of the looped strap.

The assembly of parts'just described is on one side of theloop formed by the strap sections .25 and 25 and onthe opposite side of the loop are located the check-strap friction and guide fi ngers 39 and i0 between which the strap. section 25" works; The finger'39 is carried by the guide 13 and dependstherefrom, and. on said guide is a horizontal bracketplate-l which carries the depending finger 40, theflatter having at the top a platelike enlargement 42 which seats against the bottom of the plate 41, said contiguous parts being .grooveda and ribbed, respectively, as shown at 43 Fig. 1. A- bolt 14: passes through the parts 41 and 4:2, and by means of a nut 45 screwedonthe bolt, said, parts are rigidly connected. The part 41 is slotted, as shown at 4:6, andthe part 42 also has a slot T7 for the bolt l4. These bolt slots run in a direction transverse of the strap loop, and their purpose is to permit the finger l0 to be advanced or retracted with respect to the finger 39, andso adjusted that it will not press the check strap against the picker-stick. The fingers 39 and 40 take up less room, and they are set back from the bobbin-deflecting plate 24 farther than the ordinary check-strap friction devices now in use. I

In order that the nut 27 may pass the back of the deflecting plate 2% without striking the'same, said plate has been set forwardly abitfrom the side of the picker stick 12. This relocation of theplate 24 does not interfere with its proper function of guiding the spent or ejected bobbins for the reason thatv it is formed at the top, at one end, with'a lug or enlargement 24* which catches the. end of the bobbin and keeps the same from dropping between'the picker stick 12 and the bufier 22. The face'of the plate 24: also has an oblique rib 24c which turns the big end of the bobbin downwardly to assure its delivery to the can or other receptacle into which the spent bobbins drop. I

Ordinarily, "a check strap has a length of twenty-two inches, whereas with the coupling member 29 it'is possible touse a strap having a length of eighteen inches, so that a saving of four inches of leather is effected. Tt willbe noted that the member 29 couples the strap ends without the same being lapped, and this arrangement permits the use of a shorter strap. The coupling means in use at the present time require'that the twenty-two inch strap be overlapped four inches.

The coupling member also permits the use of a strap which is in two sections, one section being shorter than the other. This short section needs to be only six inches long, and it will be placed at that end of the loop where the break usually occurs. It will therefore be seen that when the short section breaks it can be cheaply renewed.

composed of pieced sections, a plate to the outer face of whichthe strap ends are secured for-maintaining the strap in looped form, and a guard plate extending alongside the loop at one end thereof on the out side of the strap. v s r I 2. The combination with the lay of a loom; of a picker check consisting of a looped strap, a plate to the outer face of which the being stationary, and the finger which is opstrap ends are secured for maintaining the posite the outer face of the strap being adstrap in looped form, said plate being located justable toward and from said inner finger. 10

on one side of the loop, spaced friction and In testimony whereof I aifix my signaguide fingers on the other side of the loop, ture.

between which fingers the strap seats, the finger opposite the inner face of the strap NAT. H. ELLIS. 

